[rks]

Suman, I agree with *almost* everything you have said. And thanks for providing the pics. From these pics, it is clear that the Sumo has suffered relatively minor damage on the front right side -- the left headlamp is intact. So it is likely that the Sumo was swerving to the left to avoid the collision and hit the front/left side of the Maruti van. I would guess that the unfortunate kid who died was sitting in the front passenger seat, probably with his seriously injured brother next to him; it is the front passenger area of the Maruti van that has taken the brunt of the collision. Probably the driver's injury was less serious than that to the surviving brother. That is why I think that even a Maruti 800 could have saved the kid's life in this case; quite likely that the hood area would have come into play.

Also I think that the Sumo may have been travelling at 100 kmph or more initially, but it seems unlikely that the *collision* happened at this speed. Surely the van would have been thrown off and completely totalled in a 100 kmph head-on impact with a Sumo and the 3 kids at the back surely woudn't have gotten away with minor injuries. The relatively minor damage to the Sumo also suggests that the impact of the collision was not as high as 100 kmph. Of course I could be wrong -- it would be interesting to see the forensic analysis of the accident by experts.

If the two brothers were indeed sitting in the front seat, that to me is almost (but not quite) as criminal as the Sumo driver's error.

[suman]

Originally Posted by rks

Also I think that the Sumo may have been travelling at 100 kmph or more initially, but it seems unlikely that the *collision* happened at this speed. Surely the van would have been thrown off and completely totalled in a 100 kmph head-on impact with a Sumo and the 3 kids at the back surely woudn't have gotten away with minor injuries.

RKS, as I mentioned, read the Delhi edition of the Hindustan Times - the van ROLLED OVER & was dragged for about 100 feet due to the severity of the impact. That's one of the reasons why the driver of the van also has serious head injuries & is still in the hospital. I'm not sure why you are calling it as a "head-on" impact - don't you realize the Sumo hit the van at right angles, on the left side at a traffic intersection?

Its pure conjecture about whether or not the kids would have survived in a 800, even more so to debate on whether it was "criminal" or not if the brothers were sitting together in front. The Sumo is built like a tank incidentally so I'm not surprised at the relatively lower extent of damage on it.....

[aZa]

yep according to HT, the VAN did roll over and was dragged for bout 100mtrs.... And the SUMO driver is only booked for causing death due to negligent driving, i think its a bailable offence.

Something has to be done bout these CALL CENTER CABBIES.

[rahul_intlad]

No compensation is as valuable as life itself but still in order to prevent this sort of reckless driving by the call-centre cabs the company which hired them should be asked to pay a very hefty compensation.
The call centre-cabs are hired by these companies and hence they should be treated as company vehicles that way the company is responsible/accountable for these killers on the road.Some sort of training should be made compulsory for these drivers before they are recruited.

Some drastic measures are required or the number of killers on the road will just keep rising by the day.

[narayan]

as far as indian roads are concerned, there are so many " vehicles" that should not be road worthy in the first place. to add to that, no road user, right from pedestrian to a heavy vehicle guy have any sense of rules. to top it there are no enforcers of rules per se. cops are around purely for their collection only and not to regulate traffic. in such circumstances what does one do ? do we blame the sumo guy who jumped the red light ( bcos he thought he can do that and get away with it from his past experience ) or the parents who sent their kids to school in a maruti van ( who obviously dont think of such eventualities )....
cant imagine what the future holds for us as road users in this country...

[Sideways]

Easy gentlemen. Isn't it a little futile to discuss how the impact took place etc, etc. The reason, i beleive, this thread was started, was to high light the ridiculous driving of the call centre cabbies and the consequences thereof.

In order to minimise such incidents, all call centres should initiate action from their end. Either have an officer who accompanies the cab at all times and keep a check on the drivers or the best would be to fit speed limiters on all call centre cabs. Infact the employees themselves should take up the above issue with the management.

I am not saying that the above measures will completely eliminate accidents. But it will certainly help to keep the number of incidents in check.

[rks]

Originally Posted by suman

RKS, as I mentioned, read the Delhi edition of the Hindustan Times - the van ROLLED OVER & was dragged for about 100 feet due to the severity of the impact. That's one of the reasons why the driver of the van also has serious head injuries & is still in the hospital. I'm not sure why you are calling it as a "head-on" impact - don't you realize the Sumo hit the van at right angles, on the left side at a traffic intersection?

Suman, please take another look at the first pic you have posted. The right hand side of the Maruti van does not appear to have suffered damage; even the right headlamp and parking light/indicator are intact. The right mirror is intact, the fender is intact, the right hand side seems to be in shape with doors in place. This does not look like a vehicle hit sideways at 100 kmph by a Sumo and rolled over and dragged 100 metres. This report by the Hindustan Times looks like gross exaggeration and in fact even HT quotes this as an "eyewitness report" -- poor reporting for a national-level newspaper. Also the Times report says that only the brother of the dead child and the driver have been seriously injured -- the three other children (with names provided by Times) have been *discharged*. Whereas HT says that the driver and two kids have been "critically" injured, in addition to the brother of the dead child --again, does not tally. I prefer to believe the Times report.

Suman and aZa, do you guys seriously believe that if a Sumo hits a Maruti van squarely sideways at 100 kmph, dragging it for 100 metres and rolling it over, the passengers (espically kids) in the rear will survive with minor injuries? Look at the impact area on the Sumo -- it is only the front right hand side of the Sumo, which is enough to probably impact the front passenger area and the front tyre/headlamp area of the Maruti van. From the provided picture, the left hand rear portion of the Maruti van has been spared direct impact - so it looks like an angular impact with the front/left sides taking the brunt.

[suman]

RKS, this discussion is going nowhere so this is my last post on the subject. However, I do feel that the driver of the offending Sumo could/should touch base with you to figure out a way how he could get away scot free .....since with each of your posts it seems that we are heading towards the kids & the van driver being the ones at fault!

By the way, it would be an "eye-witness" report would it not since I'm sure no newspaper guys would have been hanging around at 6.30 in the morning at a traffic intersection to see for themselves unless they happened to be astrologers who had predicted the accident ? There were a couple of cops nearby who rushed the kids & driver to the hospital & to my mind they would have been the eyewitnesses (but again, I cannot prove this in a court of law!)

[tsk1979]

Note from mod
The purpose of this thread was to highlight rash driving by call center vehicles in NCR.
Thread is now closed